1. Field
The exemplary embodiments of this document are directed to a walking-assistant device for an elderly or disabled person.
2. Related Art
A sharp increase in the population of elderly people due to extended average lifespan all over the world prompted entry into an aging society. Along with some European countries as well as Japan that have already entered the aging society, Korea and the U.S.A are also anticipated to experience such a social change soon.
As the society becomes aged, the number of disabled people suffering from bodily paralysis or elderly people having difficulty in walking due to poor muscular strength is drastically on the rise. Accordingly, considerable attention is being directed at moving-related technologies, such as, for example, technologies of effectively and safely supporting walking or sitting and standing of an elderly person.
Many of the developed countries have already started with development of technologies relating to supporting elderly people's daily activities (for example, walking support or sitting-and-standing support). As an example, some Japanese companies, such as Honda, Panasonic, Sony, Hitachi, etc., have been intensively in progress with research of the relating technologies. In Europe, German companies, such as Fraunhofer or Siemens, pay attention to such technologies.
Subsequently to Honda that commercialized walking-assistant devices back in 2008, Panasonic launched “Robot bed” in 2009 while planning to sell auxiliary suits using artificial muscle through its subsidiary, Activelink. In addition, Myomo which is an orthotic device, and HAL have been commercially available since 2007 and 2008, respectively.
However, the above-mentioned products suffer from a poor technological completion and low reliability in light of safety and lightness with a provision of only a narrow range of support.
Walking-assistant devices are generally heavy and burdensome in use, and thus used only for moving a short distance in a house or going to the bathroom. With such a walking-assistant device, one cannot go upstairs or walk beyond a bank, which may be possible with a cane.
In particular, a motor-type mobile platform which achieves driving and orientation using an electrical motor is too heavy and bulky, and even inconvenient in power feeding, and is thus being far away from customer's interest.
Furthermore, since such a motor-type mobile device is activated with a user's moving intention, the user is required to express his/her moving intention with the minimum operation while the device needs to exactly grasp the user's moving intention.